Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Good news, chariot's a-comin ... good news, chariot's here

Friday, March 19, 2010

Romans 4:17
Abraham is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed - the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Paul is in love with God. His words explode with energy that he credits to God's immanent presence. David felt the same way:

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence:
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139)

There isn't a day goes by that God does not "give life to the dead and call things that are not as though they were." He is the Creat-or. That's what He does. I, on the other hand, as a somewhat insecure Creat-ed, struggle to hold on to what is already living. I think there will be nothing left for me if it dies, and so I worry God to death about helping me keep it.

As man has become more capable of maintaining his comforts and status quo, the idea of someone else in the universe making something out of nothing has gone utterly out of vogue. If I can keep what I have, I don't need God to make anything new. God might be working unknown creative wonders on the other side of physical death. But that possibility is obscured by my desire to hold on to the life I know.

In spite of all my self-protective and defensive posturing, I have to admit that the best times in my life have always come when I've lost what seemed most important to me. And that will be more true in the future than it's been in the past. First comes weeping, and then depression, sometimes despair. Eventually that gives way to resignation, then acceptance and finally forgiveness and expectation. What is going to happen next, Lord?

Old age is golden, or so I've heard said,
But sometimes I wonder, as I crawl into bed,
With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,
My eyes on the table until I wake up.
As sleep dims my vision, I say to myself:
Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?
But, though nations are warring, and Congress is vexed,
We'll still stick around to see what happens next!
How do I know my youth is all spent?
My get-up-and-go has got up and went!
But, in spite of it all, I'm able to grin
And think of the places my getup has been! *

There is no end to your creativity, Father. Every day all day for every one of us, "Behold, You make all things new."

* For a few more verses, here's a link:
http://holyjoe.org/poetry/anon7.htm

Devotions Archive

Good news, chariot's a-comin ... good news, chariot's here

Friday, March 19, 2010